European Jewish Group Wants Israeli Security Forces in Ukraine

The European Jewish Association has appealed to Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon to urgently send Israeli-trained security forces to protect the Jewish community across Ukraine in response to the recent upsurge in attacks against Jews.

EJA director Rabbi Menachem Margolin also appealed to European Union foreign ministers and ambassadors to lobby their Ukrainian counterparts to increase security to safeguard the country’s Jewish community.

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Rabbi Margolin referred to several violent attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions, including a Molotov cocktail hurled at a Jewish community center in the eastern city of Zaporozhye, a threatening phone message left for one rabbi ordering him to leave his city within 72 hours, and anti-Semitic graffiti in Kiev and other locations.

“Community reports indicate an alarming, and increasingly violent, trend of hatred towards Jewish targets – and so far, there’s been no reaction. The challenge is clear and the State must help to take security measures for what has become a Jewish emergency,” wrote Rabbi Margolin.

He added that the Israeli Air Force’s flying over the Auschwitz death camp conveyed a clear message that the Israel will ensure the security of Jews around the world, even in foreign countries. To avoid reaching such an extreme situation, Israel’s intervention is now required”.

Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu is a graduate in journalism and economics from The George Washington University. He has worked as a cub reporter in rural Virginia and as senior copy editor for major Canadian metropolitan dailies. Tzvi wrote for Arutz Sheva for several years before joining the Jewish Press.